'You're real': Woman burned as baby meets nurse who cared for her

A woman, severely burned as a baby, reunited with the nurse who cared for her 38 years ago for the first time on Tuesday.

Amanda Scarpinati, of Athens, N.Y., and nurse Susan Berger hugged in front of a picture of the two women taken in 1977 at the Albany Medical Center in N.Y.

They were first photographed while Scarpinati was receiving treatment for third-degree burns she sustained after rolling onto a steam humidifier as an infant.

The photo was published in Albany Medical Center's 1977 annual report without identification, and showed Berger as a young nurse cradling the injured baby in her arms.

Scarpinati said she tried to find out who the nurse was 20 years ago but was unsuccessful.

Woman burned as baby finds nurse who cared for her

"Growing up as a child, disfigured by the burns, I was bullied and picked on, tormented," Scarpinati, 38, told AP. "I'd look at those pictures and talk to her even though I didn't know who she was. I took comfort looking at this woman who seemed so sincere caring for me."

On Sept. 16, Scarpinati, posted the picture on Facebook said she hoped the "powers of social media" could help her identify the woman who cared for her in 1977.

Twenty-four hours after Scarpinati posted the picture, she had a lead. Angela Leary, who worked at the Albany Medical Center in 1977, sent Scarpinati a message and identified the nurse as Susan Berger. Leary wrote that Berger was "as sweet and caring as she looks in this picture.

The women were thrilled to see each other again on Tuesday and sobbed as they embraced, AP reported.

"Oh my God, you're real! Thank you!" Scarpinati said.

When asked if the meeting was the start of a long friendship, Scarpinati said, "It already has been a lifelong friendship. She just didn't know."

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